Welcome to Arizona, Danielle!
We are thrilled to announce the addition of two-time All-American @DanielleGibsonW to the Wildcat family! pic.twitter.com/FwvaAGQkL1
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) July 7, 2026
Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe is filling the hitting coach position with Danielle Gibson Whorton, who has playing and coaching experience in the SEC and owns one of the most impressive batting feats in NCAA Division I softball history.
If she can coach hitting the way she batted at Arizona State and Arkansas from 2018-22, Arizona is in tremendous shape.
Gibson Whorton has the distinction of being only one of two players in NCAA Division I softball history to hit for a home run cycle in a game. She accomplished the feat while at Arkansas in a game against Southern Illinois Edwardsville in 2019.
She is the lone player to do it in only four innings.
She hit a two-run homer in the first inning, a three-run shot in the second, a grand slam in the third and a solo homer in the fourth.
“I realized something crazy was going on after my grand slam — my third at-bat,” Gibson Whorton was quoted as saying by ESPN. “Some of the girls came up to talk to me after I hit it, saying I’m just a [solo] home run shy of hitting the cycle. I never thought of that before. I was feeling on top of the world. I said, ‘Coach, I’m good. You can just end it right now. I’ve had a great day.'”
Georgetown’s Allie Anttila is the only other person to accomplish the feat, hitting a three-run homer in the first inning, a grand slam in the second, a solo shot in the fourth inning and two-run homer in the seventh against Rutgers in 2013.
Gibson Whorton replaces Amber Freeman, who left for Texas after spending two years with the Arizona program.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Danielle Gibson Whorton to our coaching staff,” Lowe said in a school press release. “Danielle has distinguished herself at every level of the game. She brings an exceptional understanding of offensive development, a relentless work ethic, and a genuine passion for mentoring student-athletes. Our hitters will benefit tremendously from her experience, energy, and competitive mindset, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to the Wildcat family.”
Gibson Whorton comes to Arizona following stints at Cal, Arkansas, and Georgia.
At Cal, she spent the 2026 season as the hitting coach and helped a player earn All-ACC honors.
Prior to Cal, Gibson Whorton was an assistant coach at Arkansas for two seasons from 2024-25. In her first season, she helped the Razorbacks earn the 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament and coached the defense to a program record fielding percentage. Gibson Whorton helped coach Arkansas to a 44-win season and the four-seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2025. She coached four NFCA All-Americans, 13 NFCA All-Region players, and the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year across her two seasons with Arkansas.
Before her time in Fayetteville, Gibson Whorton was a volunteer assistant coach at Georgia in 2023 where she helped coach two NFCA All-Americans and guided the Bulldogs to rank among the nation’s best in slugging percentage (.578 – 2nd), home runs (92 – 4th), home runs per game (1.61 – 6th), scoring (6.18 – 12th), and batting average (.318 – 14th).
Gibson Whorton was a standout collegiate player at Arizona State and Arkansas from 2018-22, earning NFCA All-American honors twice as a Razorback and was a four-time NFCA All-Region honoree. She set single-season records at Arkansas in batting average (.445), hits (81), RBI (70), and total bases (155) in her final season and was a Top 10 Finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year in 2022.
Similar to Freeman, Gibson Whorton was a standout with the rival Sun Devils in Tempe, a major reason why they reached the Women’s College World Series in 2019. She had an outstanding freshman season, batting .343 with 12 doubles and 12 home runs before transferring to Arkansas.
Professionally, Gibson Whorton was selected in the 2022 Athletes Unlimited College Draft and recently retired from professional softball. She finished third on the final leaderboard during the 2023 AU Championship Season and in 2025 she played with the Carolina Blaze and the Chicago Bandits in the inaugural AUSL season after taking the 2024 season off.
She was traded from the Blaze to the Bandits last July for former Arizona standout pitcher and hitter Devyn Netz.
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